Battle of the Hornburg
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| Battle of the Hornburg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conflict: War of the Ring | |
| Date: 3-4 March T.A. 3019 | |
| Place: Helm's Deep (especially the Hornburg) | |
| Outcome: Victory for the Rohirrim | |
| Combatants | |
| Commanders | |
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| Strength | |
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About 3000 Rohirrim, a "forest" of Huorns |
10,000 at the least |
| Casualties | |
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Heavy, but precise numbers are unknown |
The entire force of Uruk-hai; many Dunlendings slain, the rest surrendered |
| War of the Ring |
|---|
| Osgiliath (1) · Moria · Isen (1) · Rauros · Isen (2) · Fangorn · Isengard · Hornburg · Osgiliath (2) · Siege of Gondor · Dale · Pelennor Fields · Black Gate · Dol Guldur · Bywater |
The Battle of the Hornburg, also popularly referred to as the Battle of Helm's Deep, took place at the mountain fortress of the Hornburg in the valley of Helm's Deep in Rohan. Taking place over the night of the 3-4 March T.A. 3019, it saw the attacking Uruk-hai of Saruman defeated by the Rohirrim led by Théoden and Erkenbrand.
The Armies
Rohan
The army of Rohan consisted of 1000 cavalry forces from Edoras led by King Théoden. This force included Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Théoden's nephew Éomer. This army joined with Rohan's garrison of around 1000 at the Hornburg.
The army was reinforced by 1000 scattered Rohirrim troops from the Westfold rallied by Gandalf and led by Erkenbrand. A forest of Huorns entered the valley independently, seeking revenge on Saruman's orcs.
Isengard
The army of Saruman consisted of his specially bred Uruk-hai orcs supported by Dunlendings. It was mentioned to consist of "about ten thousand Orcs", with an unknown but far smaller number of Dulendings.[1]
History
Prelude
On March 3 seeking to take the fight away from his people, Théoden brought around a thousand horsemen to the Fords of Isen along with any others in Edoras. On their way they found Ceorl who reported a defeat to the Fords; Théoden then redirected his troops to Helm's Deep, which was commanded by Gamling in his lord Erkenbrand's absence.
The Battle
The forces of Saruman arrived at the valley of Helm's Deep in the middle of the night and quickly scaled over the first defence, Helm's Dike, and attempted to break down the fortress's gate with a battering ram. But Aragorn, Éomer, and some other Rohirrim attacked, through a postern gate on the side of the Hornburg, scattering the forces threatening the doors.
The Orcs and Dunlendings then raised hundreds of ladders to scale the wall. Aragorn and Éomer had to repeatedly move the defenders, who were getting weary, to repel the Orcs coming up the ladders and crossing the wall. However, some Orcs had crept in though a culvert which let a stream out of Helm's Deep, and while the defenders were busy with the assault on the wall, they suddenly attacked, having made it past the wall. The defenders quickly reacted and drove back the Orcs, and the culvert was blocked up under supervision by Gimli.
However, the enemies reentered the culvert and caused an explosion using a device of Saruman's. This made a wide hole in the wall, and Saruman's forces could not be stopped. The defenders retreated to the Glittering Caves and to the Hornburg. Soon Saruman's forces used their blasting fire to gain entrance to the keep. At this moment, however, the horn of Helm's Deep was sounded, and after a moment a sortie led by Théoden and Aragorn rode forth, followed by men on foot from the keep, and the defenders of the caves , who made a break-out attempt and were driving the enemy out of the deep. Théoden and Aragorn cut through the Orcs and Dunlendings and arrived at Helm's Dike.
Both armies then noticed that many trees, Huorns, had moved to block a possible escape route for the Orcs. Then Gandalf, Erkenbrand, and a thousand men on foot from the Westfold arrived, and charged. The Dunlendings were so terrified of Gandalf that they could no longer fight. The Orcs lost control and ran into the trees, where the Huorns destroyed them. Thus, Rohan won the battle.
Aftermath
After the battle those Dunlendings who surrendered were given amnesty by King Théoden and allowed to return to home. The Rohirrim required that all hostilities cease, and that the Dunlendings retreat behind the Isen river again. The slain Dunlendings were buried in a mound of their own apart from the Orc carcasses. The next night those carcasses disappeared and the Death Down was left by the departing Huorns.[2]
Portrayal in adaptations
2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers:
- The Battle of the Hornburg is given a far more significant role in the film. The amount of time spent around the battle in the movie is much more than in the original book, and in comparison to the contained ending to the Rohirrim plot thread of the Book, the film's battle takes on the nature of its climax, and is depicted as more vividly complex and layered than Tolkien likely intended.
Prelude
Proceeding the battle, the entire city of Edoras is evacuated to Helm's Deep, along with all the people of Rohan, rather than merely the refugees of the Westfold, and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli accompany King Théoden and his people there. Along the way they are attacked by Saruman's Warg-Riders. During this fight, Éowyn leads the evacuees on to Helm's Deep while the Riders of Rohan fought off the attack. Aragorn becomes entangled with the harness of a Warg and is dragged off the side of a cliff. Upon arrival at Helm's Deep, the Rohirrim begin belated siege preparations, during which Aragorn, found by the horse Brego, arrives with news of 10,000 Uruk-hai coming from Isengard, news which leads Théoden to order conscription of mature boys and old men for the impending battle. Aragorn suggests calling for aid to the downtrodden Théoden, and Legolas argues with him about the Rohirrim defenders' fighting odds. All are surprised at a sudden arrival of Haldir and an army of Elves from Lórien. They had been sent by Elrond to support the Rohirrim, in honor of the ancient alliance between Men and Elves. Aragorn, Legolas, and Haldir's Elves station on the Deeping Wall, ensuring that every fortification of the Hornburg is manned.
The battle
The battle begins once the Uruk host of 10,000 has formed fully in front of the castle - an accidental bow shot by an old man called Aldor kills an Uruk at the front, followed by a volley of arrows from all defenders once the Uruks begin to charge forward. As Uruk-hai pour over ladders on the Deeping wall to be met with a brave but shifting defence by the Rohirrim; however, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn's roles are greatly expanded, and the device responsible for destroying the wall is revealed as a form of gunpowder. Once the wall is blown, the Uruk-hai pour into Helm's Deep through the great gap.The battle slowly turns from here; Aragorn is briefly incapacitated and the Elves begin to wither, and Haldir himself is slain. The Rohirrim begin to suffer casualties of their own, their already-sparse forces thinning and loosing their weakest members, and the Uruk-hai begin to besiege the keep by using a battering ram against main gate. Théoden is injured in this chaos, and Aragorn offers aid, to which he requests "Time, as much you can get me." To do this, Aragorn and Gimli stealthily circle the fortress to ambush the Uruk-hai on the causeway. Gimli and Aragorn earn time for the Rohirrim to refortify the entrance, but soon the defenses breakdown as Uruks fully breach the area behind the Deeping Wall, and all remaining Rohirrim retreat to the keep. Once inside where they are trapped, Théoden falls further into despair while his soldiers brace the doors, as Aragorn and Gamling deliberate on sending the women and children further into the caves. As the Orcs break down the doors to the keep, Gimli notes that the sun is rising, allowing Aragorn to remember the arrival of Gandalf, and convinced Théoden to ride out with him. Gimli sounds the horn of Helm Hammerhand as Théoden, Aragorn, and the remaining Rohirrim upon horses charge out of the keep, through the Hornburg and out its gates, breaking the front line of the host at the causeway. From a vantage point, Théoden and Aragorn see Gandalf arrive upon Shadowfax on a high hill in the east, and with him Éomer and the horsemen he had gathered, who collectively plunge into the valley towards the Hornburg. The Uruk host which is still great in number forms up a massive phalanx of spears to meet Gandalf and Éomer's sortie from above. The sun rises over this high point and shines on the battlefield, blinding many of the Uruk-hai and breaking their cohesive formation, and as the newly arrived forces charge into them, causing the Uruks to break and flee.
2013 : The Lord of the Rings Online: Helm's Deep:
- The Battle of the Hornburg is a key part of the Epic Storyline of this expansion.
